[Healeys] DMV No Go

Sat Oct 28 18:32:04 MDT 2017

Vehicle inspectors today were mostly not born when the last Austin-Healey
rolled off the line and close to 100% of the cars they deal with are modern
ones built since 1980 with a 17-digit VIN that has a code for everything.
They are not familiar with the fact that later Austin-Healey VINs cannot be
verified by or related to an engine number and vice versa but they are
following the law as written by others who also aren't familiar with
Healeys.  They also are not aware that many Healeys have already had their
VIN plates re-created using a new blank (in many states, including North
Carolina, it is a felony to replace a VIN plate and only an official
representative of the manufacturer can do so.  Kinda hard to find a BMC
representative today to correct a mistake made years ago).  

As someone who has sought to identify and track ownership of BJ8s for 20
years, I can tell you that there are an incredible number of cars running
around with messed-up identification numbers and many owners are not even
aware of it.  It seems to be (or have been) very easy to register a car with
these incorrect numbers, but like pulling teeth to get them corrected today.
I've seen a ton of cars registered with the engine serial number, which in
one or two cases is not the original engine for the car it claims to be.  

Every U.S. state has its own vehicle laws and regulations, so experience in
one state is no help to resolve problems in another state.

Steve Byers

HBJ8L/36666

BJ8 Registry

AHCA Delegate at Large

Havelock, NC  

From: Healeys [mailto:healeys-bounces at autox.team.net] On Behalf Of David
Nock
Sent: Saturday, October 28, 2017 1:14 PM
To: Roland Wilhelmy
Cc: Healey List
Subject: Re: [Healeys] DMV No Go

In order for the DMV or a Officer to do a VIN verification it has to be a
complete car, not a shell with no drive train. I have had to do several VIN
verifications and always have to wait until the car is road worthy.

On Oct 28, 2017, at 7:50 AM, Roland Wilhelmy <sentenac.rw at gmail.com> wrote:

I had the local sheriff verify the identity of my BN1. DMV has the forms for
them to sign.  I didn't have another locally licensed Healey and owner
nearby to verify what the correct ID was but it couldn't hurt. 

-Roland

San Diego

Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone.

From: Michael MacLean

Sent: Friday, October 27, 2017 11:55 PM

To: Healey List

Reply To: rrengineer.mike at att.net

Subject: [Healeys] DMV No Go

Took my BN2 body shell to the California DMV today to establish ownership.
If you remember from past posts I got the body shell and suspension alone
with no numbers on the car whatsoever.  Well, there is a chassis ID plate on
the firewall now.  I was naive enough to think that was all I needed to
start ownership paperwork, so I took the body on a flatbed trailer to the
DMV today for a VIN number verification to start the paperwork. After
renting a tilt flat bed trailer and wasting most of the afternoon at the
Redlands DMV office it was no dice.  I was told it had to have an engine in
it to verify the VIN number.  The car does not even have the suspension in
it yet and the engine bay is bare.  It needs a lot more prep before I can
put the engine in.  So back to square one.  I wanted to do a transfer while
it was just a shell to pay less extorsion money the the state because a body
shell is worth a whole lot less than a finished car.  Apparently they want
more money than I want to pay.

Mike MacLean

Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android
<https://overview.mail.yahoo.com/mobile/?.src=Android> 

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